Men's Hoops Squanders Halftime Lead in 84-75 Loss at Johnson & Wales

THE BASICS 
Score: 
Emmanuel College, 75 – Johnson & Wales Univ., 84

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (15-6, 11-2 GNAC)
Johnson & Wales Univ. Wildcats (10-11, 7-7 GNAC)

Location: Providence, R.I. – Wildcat Center

Date: Saturday, February 4, 2023

THE LEAD – A 12-0 run over the final 1:15 of action lifted host Johnson & Wales University to a come-from-behind 84-75 win over Emmanuel College on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action at the Wildcat Center.

 HOW IT HAPPENED

• After trailing by as many as 17 points early in the second half, Johnson & Wales clawed back into to action to make it a single-possession game at 61-58 following an old-fashion three-point play from Bryan Davis (Miramar, Fla.) with just over nine minutes to play in regulation.  
• Minutes later, Aireus Raspberry (Cranston, R.I.) drained a pair of bonus free throws with 5:29 left to tie the score at 65-65.
• After trading hoops, EC senior Kendrick Jean-Francois (Lynn, Mass.) connected on a huge three from the wing to pull EC back on top 70-67 and following a defensive stop, the forward hit a pair of one-and-one free throws to push the EC lead to five at 72-67 with 3:36 remaining.
• EC junior Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) made one of two from the line to five Emmanuel a brief 75-72 lead with 1:36 to play before Mike Rogers (Miramar, Fla.) swished back-to-back threes to swing the game in JWU's favor at 78-75 with under a minute remaining.
• Johnson & Wales forced an Emmanuel turnover on the ensuing possession and connected from the free throw line down the stretch to pull out the 84-75 come-from-behind victory.
• The Wildcats opened the game with scores on their first two possessions including a fast-break layup from Aireus Raspberry (Cranston, R.I.) to put JWU ahead 4-3 before the Saints took the lead with a quick 6-0 spurt capped by a deep triple from senior Ricky Martin (Sicklerville, N.J.) to make it 9-4 with 17:48 to play in the opening stanza.
• Later in the half, Raspberry evened the score at 27-27 before Emmanuel strung together a 10-0 flurry with senior Ted Weber (Orange, Conn.) and Pope scoring five points each during the surge to give the Saints a 37-27 lead with 6:14 left in the half.
• EC led by as many as 14 over the final minutes of the half, taking a 12-point lead into the locker room at 48-36.
• A Pope triple early in the second stretched the lead to 17 (53-36) but JWU wasn't ready to call it a day as the hosts battled back to get it to single digits following a Mike Rogers (Miramar, Fla.) jumper with 13:14 on the clock to cut the EC lead to 59-51 and set the stage for the late game rally.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Raspberry led all scorers with a career-high 35 points including a 10-of-11 performance from the charity stripe.
• Pope led EC with a team-high 26 while Jean-Francois and Weber were also in double-figured with 15 and 10, respectively.
• JWU junior Josh Zangerle (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) chipped in with 18 in 37 minutes of action.
• Rogers ended the game with 15 points going 5-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from behind the arc while Davis added 10 points in 32 minutes off the bench.
• Johnson & Wales outscored Emmanuel in the second half, 48-27
• EC committed 22 turnovers compared to just 10 by the hosts which JWU turned into 29 points in the win.
• This marks the first time since November the Saints have dropped back-to-back games.

UP NEXT

• The Saints play host to University of Saint Joseph (CT) on Wednesday, February 8 at 7:30 PM. The Blue Jays are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in the D3Hoops National Poll.
• JWU is back the same day, traveling to Chicopee, Mass. for an 8:00 PM GNAC tilt at Elms College.